5

After the tension on Teth, arriving at Ord Mantell was a welcome reprieve.

Saedii felt the tension palpably slipped away as the Marauder settled into port. As nice as it was to have full bellies and real beds, the Batch still weren't quite welcome at Teth. Didn't get the same refreshed feeling that Saedii did when they landed there. Coming back to Ord Mantell – where they often survived on ration bars and slept onboard, in their cramped cots – was preferable over facing the scrutiny of the other Clones.

Several of the port workers nodded to them as the Batch landed. After over a year of coming and going, faces were starting to become familiar among the crass crowd that called Ord Mantell home.

Omega and Wrecker were arguably the most excited. As soon as the Marauder touched down, they were at the ramp door.

"Hang on!" Echo called, halting the two of them in their tracks. "Where do you think you two are going?"

"To get Mantell Mix," Omega said.

Wrecker nodded sagely. "It's been weeks!"

"You can't go now. We need you to help us get this trunk to Cid." Echo tapped the massive trunk that they'd pilfered from Aynaboni.

A harsh groan tore from Wrecker's lips. "Can't we do that later?"

"No."

Omega gave a soft sigh. Wrecker pouted but reached out and heaved the trunk onto his massive shoulder, following Crosshair down the ramp.

The city was busy. Lots of vendors were selling wares, mostly illegal, and swarms of shoppers were gathered around to assess the offerings. Tech's eyes flitted behind his goggles as he, too, took in the stalls. Saedii was sure he was compiling a mental list for later.

"Saedii, look!" Omega pointed to a familiar looking jewelry stall, with what appeared to be counterfeit diamonds and rubies laid out on beds of black velvet. "That's the vendor from last year! The one who sold me my necklace!"

Saedii glanced at the ugly lumpy stone that hung around Omega's neck. It wasn't much to look at – matte black, rough and uneven, about the size of her thumb. But the vendor had insisted it was made of a substance called torrinite that granted mental clarity. A story that Saedii was sure was made up, but that didn't seem to matter to her young friend. Omega never took it off, even to sleep.

She tugged at Saedii's hand, trying to draw her in the direction of the vendor. "Maybe he has a matching necklace for you. Let's go see!"

"Maybe later," Saedii said tactfully. While Omega was convinced the torrinite worked, Saedii wasn't. And she sure as hell wasn't going to spend more credits on an ugly rock. "We have to go meet with Cid, remember?"

"But it will only take a second."

"Sorry, kid." Hunter ruffled Omega's hair. "We're not here for fun. We've still got a job to finish."

Disappointment flared in Omega's wide brown eyes, but she gave him a serious nod.

The Black Hole was nearly empty at this time in the morning. A single patron was inside, passed out at one of the far tables. Based on the puddle of drool beneath his chin, he'd been there all night.

Behind the bar, Thrall looked up and gave them a brief nod. Even after a year of them coming and going, the Tradoshian bartender hardly said more than a few words to them. Saedii got the feeling that he didn't particularly like them, though she couldn't imagine why.

"Is Cid in her office?" Hunter asked him.

Thrall grunted. A sound of affirmation.

As they turned in the direction of Cid's office, Crosshair casually leaned in close to Saedii and whispered, "Five credits says that she sends us somewhere uninhabitable."

After Kamino last year, Crosshair only ever made bets with Saedii. It was a game now, with the aim being to make the most outlandish bet. So far, Saedii had lost nearly a hundred credits to Crosshair, but had won back just as many. It was one of the things she looked forward to the most with accepting a new job.

"Five credits says it's straight into an Empire stronghold," Saedii countered, voice just as low.

Ahead of her, Echo turned, eyeing the two of them. He knew that they made these bets, though he could never catch them in the act. And even though Saedii was sixteen now, he was still of the mind that she was too young to be gambling.

"What are you two whispering about?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

Crosshair sneered. "Nothing that concerns you."

Echo's eyebrow rose a little higher at the attitude. "You're not making another bet, are you?"

"No," Saedii insisted. "I learned my lesson last year. Gambling is reprehensible and crude. Not suitable at all for a Jedi."

From the corner of her eye, Crosshair's lips gave the slightest of twitches. Fighting a smile.

Echo's eyes narrowed. "If I find out you two are making bets again –"

"You'll what?" Crosshair asked, voice sharp as a blade. "Send us to our rooms? Ground us?"

Saedii elbowed him sharply. "We're not making bets, Echo. On my honor as a Jedi."

From the down turn of his lips, Echo didn't quite believe her. But he didn't push it. With nothing more than a last withering glance in their direction, he turned back around and let it go.

Crosshair's voice was amused as he whispered, "Has anyone ever told you that you're conniving?"

"Not to my face." A smug little smile settled on her face. "Do we have a deal or not?"

"Deal."

The smell of stale toast and stinky feet greeted them as they approached Cid's office door. Next to her, Tech made a face and scrunched his nose.

Wrecker banged on the door, rattling it on its hinges. From inside, low voices cut off and one of them swore sharply.

"Watch it, Muscles! You'll take my door off!" Cid barked as she swung the door open.

Dark purple drathroot smoke billowed out of the open door. Hunter coughed as the smell swarmed his heightened senses and Omega covered her nose. Cid watched them both with little sympathy, shoving her drathroot joint back between her scaled lips.

"You lot are late. What took you so long?" Cid demanded as she turned back into her office.

Hunter's nose was scrunched as he followed her inside. "We took a short detour."

Inside, Cid's office was messy and unorganized. Trinkets large and small cluttered several of the shelves behind her, piled so high that the shelves had begun to bow under their weight. In each corner of the room, stacks and stacks of papers nearly reached up to the ceiling, and perched on top of one, a cage rattled as something hissed from inside.

Cid's desk was the cleanest part. Cleared of anything except for a single holopad, it was the only part of the room kept in any kind of order.

And it was currently occupied.

Sitting in Cid's tall-backed chair, feet propped up on the desk, was a woman. Dark, satiny skin contrasted against a light blue lyki bandana, which held back brown and gold locs from her face. A leather gunner's jacket with the insignia ripped off stretched across narrow shoulders, and by the small lumps along her sleeves, she was heavily armed. Long, graceful legs stretched the width of Cid's desk as she leaned back in Cid's chair, and at her narrow waist, two blasters peeked out from underneath her jacket.

Amber eyes peered out at them from under a dainty brow and her full lips quirked into a shrewd smile as she purred, "Well, this must be the team you were telling me about."

"They're not much to look at, but they get the job done," Cid quipped as Wrecker deposited the massive trunk at her feet.

The stranger's lovely eyes twitched in Tech's direction. "I beg to differ."

A little furrow appeared between Tech's brows.

"And who are you?" Hunter asked. His tone had sharpened with unease.

That smile turned into a wide, cheeky grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Not particularly," Crosshair muttered. The look he leveled on this stranger was less than impressed. "We're just here to get paid."

"Easy, Grumpy. You'll get your due." Cid popped open the trunk, peering inside.

The stranger's eyes slid to Omega and Saedii. Observing them in a way that made Saedii feel like something under a microscope. "I thought you said they were Clones?"

Cid gave a dismissive wave. "Most of them."

"You told her?" Hunter demanded in outrage.

"Don't get your boxers all twisted, Bandana," Cid griped. "Phee's a friend. She's the most trustworthy person I know."

"That's not saying much," Echo whispered to Crosshair.

Saedii's gaze leveled on the frayed spot at Phee's left shoulder, where the insignia had been ripped off the gunner's jacket. She's seen similar, once. On the jacket of one Hondo Ohnaka. "She's a pirate."

A flash of surprised flitted across the stranger's face. Impressed by Saedii's observation. "Sharp for a kid, aren't you?"

"She doesn't look like a pirate to me," Wrecker observed, eyes going over Phee from head to toe.

"Well, you lot don't exactly look like Clones." The stranger put her hands on her hips. "Aren't you all supposed to look alike?"

"Most of us." By the deadly hiss of Crosshair's voice, he was liking Phee less and less.

She scoffed. "So much for quality control."

With a languid grace, Phee got to her feet, snatching a glass of hiithi off the desk. She took a long, withering sip as she came to a stop before the Batch, giving them a once over. Her eyes, so unique, were sharp and observant. And slightly amused.

"One of you is too big. One's too small," she stated, turning from Wrecker and Omega, both of whom looked offended, and towards Hunter and Crosshair. "Two of you have face tattoos – one of which, I might add, isn't very good."

Very slowly, Crosshair removed the toothpick from his teeth. His hand twitched towards the blaster at his belt. For his part, Hunter looked floored. As if he couldn't believe she would dare to comment on their tattoos.

Phee looked at Echo and Saedii next. "You're half-robot. And she's purple. I thought you lot only came in one shade?"

"Saedii is not a Clone," Tech corrected, one hand poised in the air. "She is from the planet Daeth. Skin pigmentation of the Daethii people ranges from mauve to lavender –"

"And what about you, huh? Are those glasses a style choice? Because they're really working for you," Phee said, voice husky.

Tech's expression went blank. "I do not understand your question. Spectacles are correctional equipment used to fix vision problems, including diplopia, myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and –"

"Hell, someone make it stop!" Cid griped.

But Phee didn't look put off. The opposite, in fact. She looked intrigued. "Looks and brains. You're the full package, aren't you?"

Crosshair made a gagging sound.

"Got a name, Brown Eyes?"

Tech's mouth gaped open and closed, like a fish. Stunned. With fumbling fingers, he adjusted the glasses on his nose and blurted, "Tech. However, the phenotypic eye color for all Clones is brown. Iris pigmentation was not affected by our mutation, so the moniker Brown Eyes would be redundant and ineffectual –"

"Believe me," Phee said demurely, "I've seen lots of brown eyes before, but none like yours. You're one of a kind."

Now it was Wrecker's turn to gape in amazement. "Is she...flirting? With Tech?"

"I think so," Echo said, just as incredulous.

"Hey. I'm a woman who knows what I want." Phee gave Tech the sultriest of winks, which made him blush furiously.

Next to Saedii, Crosshair grumbled, "This is nauseating."

Downing the rest of her drink, Phee reached out and patted the plane of Tech's cheek, announcing, "See you around, Brown Eyes."

A very heavy silence settled over Cid's office as the Batch watched her leave. Wrecker, shocked, stared at her like she was some kind of ghost slithering away through the halls, while Crosshair scrunched his nose as she walked by, like he'd smelled something foul. Tech's expression was utterly dumbfounded.

Omega leaned in close to Saedii, whispering, "What's flirting?"

Saedii whispered back, "It means she wants to make babies with Tech."

"That-that is not factual!" Tech sputtered.

Wrecker guffawed. "Tech has a girlfriend!"

"I do not!"

"Oh, by the way!" Phee leaned back in through the door. Her expression had shifted from warm to something cunning. Predatory. "That information isn't free, Cid. I except a cut when your top team comes through. A healthy cut."

Cid waved her out. "You'll get your credits. Don't you worry."

"What is she talking about?" Hunter demanded, turning to Cid.

"Your next mission. You lot are heading to the Outer Rim."